SEMIFINALS SET FOR REGION II CHAMPIONSHIPS

Semifinal Matches Set for Us Youth Soccer Region II Championships

The semifinal matches are set as 56 teams of 216 remain in competition for the 2016 US Youth Soccer Region II (Midwest) Championships. Matches are scheduled for Tuesday with seven returning Region II champions still in the running.

Youth Soccer News: After three days of preliminary games, the semifinalists are set for the 2016 US Youth Soccer Region II (Midwest) Championships at Grand Park Sports Complex in Westfield, Ind. Of the 216 Boys and Girls teams participating, 56 teams in the U13 through U19 age groups will continue on their pursuit to become a US Youth Soccer National Champion.

The semifinals will take place on Tuesday, June 28 after a rest day on Monday.

Additionally, more than 240 college coaches have attended Region II Championships over the course of the three preliminary game days.

Recaps from Sunday’s games:

U13 Boys
The game between KC Fusion Academy (KS) and Chicago Fire Academy 03 (IL) resulted in a back-and-forth scoring game. Quinten Blair of KC Fusion scored in the fifth minute of the match, but Chicago Fire’s Javier Casas tied up the match ten minutes later. Dylan Hooper put KC Fusion ahead near the end of the first half, but Chicago Fire’s Javier Casas scored the equalizer right before halftime. With a 2-2 tie at halftime, the game could have belonged to either team. Most of the play took place in the middle of the field until a Chicago Fire player dribbled the ball down the sideline and found Casas in the middle of the 18-yard box, who knocked the ball into the back of the net. Chicago Fire continued to hold more of the possession and claimed the 3-2 win as well as a spot in the semifinals.

“We’re a team that tries to move more and play out from the back,” Chicago Fire head coach Charlie Trout said. “The opposition came and pressed us pretty high to begin with and we got caught a little bit with possession in the back, so we conceded early, but it was a good bounce back. I think we started to control the game, and play our game. Once we did that, we found a lot of chances and luckily managed to put some away. There was some good stuff, some bad stuff and a lot of stuff to learn but a lot of positives as well.”

U14 Girls
PSG MI Gators 02 Orange (MI) added a total of four goals against Cleveland FC 01/02 Royal (OH-N). Madaline Novak started PSG off in the eighth minute as she took the ball around a defender from the top right side of 18-yard box and shot to the bottom left corner of the goal. Taylor Stanley posted the second goal after Alexia Czerwien split the defenders with a pass for Stanley to slot the ball into the bottom right corner of the net. PSG also finished a pair of goals in the second half. Stanley earned her second goal of the match in the 49th minute, while PSG’s fourth goal came from Emily Mathews in the 58th minute. With three consecutive wins in the preliminary games, PSG will move on to the semifinals.

U15 Boys
With a semifinal spot on the line, both Milwaukie Bavarians (WI) and LFSC Geerling (MO) looked for the win. Milwaukie Bavarians drove more of the offensive push in the beginning of the match, although LFSC had a few opportunities to goal. At halftime, it was a scoreless game. In the second half, it was Mitchell Murphy who scored the only goal of the game. The ball was crossed on the ground across the goal for Murphy to pick up and place in the left bottom corner of the net. LFSC began to gain more of a rhythm after the goal, yet in the final minutes of the match, the ball constantly traveled from one goal to the other as both teams were determined to score. In the end, LFSC kept the lead, earning the 1-0 victory and advancing to the semifinals.

U16 Girls
FCKC Pink Panthers Elite (MO) defeated ZYSA 00 Select (IN), 4-0, in their final preliminary game. A pair of goals came in the first half, where Sidney Ewing and Jasmine Collier took the credit. In the second half, FCKC scored another two goals with the scorers as Hallie Klanke and Kassidy Newsom. FCKC will advance to the semifinals after their three preliminary games.

U17 Girls
Both Lou Fusz (MO) and REV (MN) went a scoring spree, which led to a 4-2 victory for Lou Fusz. Andrea Frerker got Lou Fusz on the board first for the only goal in the first half. In the second half, most of the play stayed in Lou Fusz’s offensive end, and the team increased their lead to 2-0 when Morgan Hollenbeck flew a free kick over the head of the REV goalkeeper from about 25-yards out. One minute later, REV came back with a goal from Olivia Bruce, catching Lou Fusz on their heels. Another two minutes later, REV’s Molly Beckman took on Lou Fusz’s goalkeeper in a one-on-one battle and scored to tie up the game, 2-2. Lou Fusz had the final say with the last two goals as Frerker finished a penalty kick, and Kelly Jerger drove a shot to the upper corner of the goal.

“The girls all throughout the tournament played absolutely unbelievable,” Lou Fusz head coach Jim Wipke said. “They played their hearts out. We won two games, tied one, and we don’t advance, which is always tough. All you try to do at Regionals is go up and give your best effort, and I really think they did. We didn’t find out that we were coming here until two weeks before we came, and so for them to give the effort that they gave, I just couldn’t be prouder.”

U18 Boys
In the match between Galaxy SC 97/98 Blue (IL) and 97/98 Omaha FC Elite (NE), Omaha FC came out with the 2-0 victory. Adam Dejka put the ball in the back of the net in the 10th minute to obtain the lead for Omaha FC. In the second half, Omaha FC capitalized on an opportunity as Christian Keller headed the ball off of a corner kick and straight into the goal. Galaxy SC had a couple of close chances to get on the board, but Omaha FC took the win as well as a spot in the semifinals.

Regional winners of the U13 through U19 age groups earn a berth to the 2016 US Youth Soccer National Championships, held July 26-31 at the Toyota Soccer Center in Frisco, Texas. The US Youth Soccer National Championships will consist of US Youth Soccer Regional Champions in the U13 through U19 Boys and Girls age groups, as well as the US Youth Soccer National League qualifiers in the U14 through U18 Boys and Girls age groups to complete the field of 96 teams.

Source/Photo Credit: US Youth Soccer

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Chris Rael is a reporter for SoccerToday and covers youth and adult soccer.
A multimedia artist whose hobbies include camping, traveling and playing football as much as possible. Chris is based in Southern California.